U.S. builder confidence for new single-family homes in August weakened for the eighth consecutive month, decreasing six points from July to 49, the lowest reading since May 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The HMI component gauging current sales conditions shrunk seven points to 57 and the measurement of sales expectations in the next six months dipped 2 points to 47 in August. The component measuring prospective buyer traffic dropped five points from July to 32.
Derived from a monthly NAHB survey, the HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales as well as sales expectations for the next six months. Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good rather than poor. See NAHB
